Event Details

1. Introduction to Cookbook Publishing This workshop provides an introduction to cookbook publishing. Topics include writing a cookbook proposal; approaches to literary agents and publishing houses; contractual considerations; copyright law; recipe development; the use of photography or artwork; cookbook promotion; advances and royalties; self-publishing; and e-books. It will include speakers, such as prominent cookbook authors, agents, editors, and publishers.Organized byAndrew F. Smith, New School, New York.

2. Reading Cookbooks: A Structured Approach and Structured Dialogue with Barbara Ketcham Wheaton There are five personalities in every cookbook: the author, the publisher, the reader, the cook, and the eater. With these different personalities in mind, this session will encourage critical thinking about the cookbook as text and will present an opportunity to investigate the different layers of meaning that can be gleaned from cookbooks, leaving the participants with additional tools for analyzing these documents in any historical or cultural context. Note: This workshop requires registration in advance: participants will be sent materials in advance to read and prepare for group discussion, including links to digital libraries and photocopied excerpts from historical cookbooks, when necessary.Organized byBarbara Wheaton, Hon. Curator of the Culinary Collection, Schlesinger Library.

II. Workshops 1-5 pm

3. The Wild World of Self-Publishing Once considered a last resort, in recent years self publishing has become an option seriously considered, if not preferred by many novice and experienced authors. This workshop is an introduction to cookbook self publishing. Topics will include writing a proposal which will be a crucial part of your publishing plan, including what is your platform and determining your target audience, cookbook development, the many hats worn by self publishers, select the specifications of your book, a look at the options now available (eBook, print on demand, short run, traditional printing) and selling your self published book.Organized bySheila Thomas.

4. The Way to Look: How to Do Research with Cookbooks Have you ever wondered why research libraries collect cookbooks? It’s not for their recipes, at least not primarily. Cookbooks are one of the most important compasses of culture. From ethnicity and religion to gender and fashion, cookbooks are an excellent barometer of who we are and what we think we are in any given period. That said, doing research with them isn’t that easy. Indexing sources are unreliable. Reviews are often sloppy and misleading. And finding the books that really address you topic is made difficult by how libraries organize the books on the shelf. This workshop addresses all these issues and more as the participants tell you how they research cookbooks and how they use them in their work.Organized by Marvin Taylor, Director of the Fales Library and Special Collections.Panelists:Jane Greenway Carr, PhD Candidate, New York UniversityT. Susan Chang, Food writer and cookbook reviewerRebecca Federman, New York Public Library’s Culinary Collections Librarian and Electronic Resources CoordinatorJonathan Milder, Research Librarian, Food NetworkLaura Shapiro, journalist and culinary historianAndrew F. Smith, New School, New York

5. Cookbook Publishing 360 This workshop is designed to provide attendees with an interactive, hands-on approach to the changing world of cookbook publishing. Prominent speakers will lead discussions on four key areas of book production and marketing: Editorial; Production/ Print & Digital (ebooks, as well as apps, websites); Marketing / Promotion (social and traditional, book tours); and Sales/Distribution. The goal of this workshop is both to give attendees a clear understanding of the process by which cookbooks come to market, while also giving them information on how that process is changing, and how it will continue to evolve in the days ahead. Coming out of this session, participants will gain insights needed to decide on how best to publish their cookbook, whether it’s via a traditional publisher route, self-publishing, ebook first, or not even as a book at all.Organized byBruce Shaw and Adam Salomone.